fbpx

NYPD Cops Face Discipline For George Floyd-Style Violent Social Distancing Arrest Of A Bystander

NYPD Cops Face Discipline For George Floyd-Style Violent Social Distancing Arrest Of A Bystander

NYPD
NYPD cops are facing discipline for a George Floyd-style knee-restraint technique used in a violent social distancing arrest. In early May, Officer Francisco X. Garcia put his full weight on the upper torso and neck of Donni Wright, who had objected to the arrest of two other people. Credit: Daquan Owens

A New York Police Department officer is facing misconduct charges for violently arresting and pressing his knee into a man’s neck on May 2, similar to the controversial retaining technique that resulted in George Floyd’s death on May 25.

The NYPD officer, Francisco Garcia, was suspended pending an internal investigation after he was caught on camera violently subduing a bystander during an arrest in Manhattan’s East Village. Several other officers involved are now facing discipline as well.

“The internal investigation is recommending discipline for several members of the Department involved in the incident. Charges are expected as early as next week,” NYPD said in a statement.

Garcia was stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty after the incident, which Mayor Bill de Blasio called “very troubling” and “absolutely unacceptable.” He could still face criminal charges.

A cell phone video captured plainclothes officer Garcia “wielding a Taser as he shouts at bystanders as other cops confronted two men for allegedly violating coronavirus social-distancing rules,” The New York Post report.

“Move the f–k back right now!” Garcia was recorded saying.

The video then shows Garcia holstering the Taser and grabbing an onlooker who had objected to the arrest of two other people. Garcia wrestles the man down and punches him in his head before using his knee to pin the man’s neck to the sidewalk.

“What are you flexing for? Don’t flex!”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office later decided not to prosecute the 33-year-old man, Donni Wright, on charges of assaulting a police officer, menacing and resisting arrest.

NYPD has been accused of targeting mainly Black people for violating social distancing rules, while ignoring white residents violating the same rules.

Wright was treated at a hospital following his arrest and has filed a notice of claim with the city, the first step before filing a lawsuit, Time reported.

Wright’s lawyer, Sanford Rubinstein, called the disciplinary charges a “step in the right direction” and said Garcia should be fired.

The Rev. Kevin McCall, an adviser to Wright’s family, told Time, “We want to send a clear message that Donni Wright could have been dead today. Before we were calling George Floyd’s name, we could’ve been calling Donni Wright’s name. Thank God he wasn’t also killed by the actions of the police.”

This is not the first time Garcia has brought a negative spotlight on the NYPD. He has been sued seven times during the past six years, leading to more than $200,000 in settlements by the city, records show.

One of the lawsuits against Garcia resulted in NYC doling out one of its largest settlements for $120,000. The 2018 lawsuit was filed against Garcia and his partner, Gabor Kolman. It alleged the pair racially profiled Hector Hernandez in January 2016, leading to his wrongful arrest and assault, Black Enterprise reported.

In a February 2014 incident, Garcia threw Marcus Bussey to the floor inside a NYC public housing complex and “began assaulting him with fists, shod feet and foreign objects, attacking his legs, knees, thighs, back, ribs and head,” the ensuing lawsuit alleged. It was settled for $27,500 the next year.

Just a year after Garcia joined the force in October 2013, the police officer allegedly ridiculed a woman for her sexual orientation at a fast-food joint,  court papers state. When the woman, Natae Adams, tried to get his badge number, Garcia allegedly said, “Take a f–king picture of it, f–king d–e!” and later arrested her, according to the suit.

“It has become a truism among police chiefs that 10 percent of their officers
cause 90 percent of the problems,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.